Committee approves bill limiting how long governor may delay review of administrative rules

Senate Bill 56, which clarifies the timing for legislative review of administrative rules, passed the State Agencies & Govt'l Affairs House committee after brief discussion.

Senator Dodson, sponsor of the bill, told the committee the bill “is a very simple clarification” to the scheduling system that groups administrative rules into cycles so each rule is reviewed every 12 years. He said the measure allows a governor to change which review group a department’s rules belong to but prevents repeated reassignment that would indefinitely postpone review.

The bill grew out of a previous law that assigned rules to roughly six groups so each set is examined in rotation. Dodson said the change addresses uncertainty about whether a new administration could move a rule into a later group repeatedly and thereby avoid the 12-year review requirement.

There were no committee questions after Dodson’s explanation. Representative Meeks moved to pass the bill; the chair called for the ayes and announced, “Ayes have it.” The committee vote carried and Senator Dodson’s bill was reported passed.

The bill does not change the substance of any existing administrative rules; it only sets a limit on how the grouping schedule may be altered, ensuring every rule must be reviewed within a 12-year period even if administratively reassigned.

The committee record shows no votes by name; the chair announced the outcome.